January 20, 2005

Naming Mount Rushmore

Everyone knows about Mount Rushmore, but do you know how it got the name?

Charles Rushmore, a New York lawyer, was visiting the area in 1885. His host was a local named David Swanzey, who named the mountain in his guest's honor. The mountain was known by various names until that time, including Sugarloaf Mountain, Cougar Mountain, and the Keystone Cliffs, but the new name of Mount Rushmore stuck.

And who was David Swanzey? The man who would marry Carrie Ingalls (sister of Laura Ingalls Wilder) in 1912.